take off all your cool
by mayarmayar
Summary: In which May and Drew shop for Contest costumes in the Sinnoh region, and Drew can't seem to find the perfect look. /contest one-shot


"This is ridiculous."

May giggled, then held her hands to her mouth—as if that could have masked her amusement—as she stared at the sulking, fumbling boy next to her in the full-length mirror.

Above their heads, a vaguely familiar tune filtered out of the speakers and May hummed along to the catchy melody, which only seemed to put Drew in an even worse mood than before. She watched as his fingers caught against the lapels of his purple suit, smoothing an invisible wrinkle before falling to his side, twitching slightly.

She smothered her laugh before it could escape again, but it came out as a more-than-obvious snort that elicited a scowl.

"May, I swear"—another giggle—"stop. Please."

If Drew was even willing to say _please _to her, he must be seriously embarrassed.

A whole new region meant a whole new set of Contest rules to follow. May had been strolling in the city's shopping district when she'd stumbled across Drew, who had been flustered to see her.

He'd tried to play it cool and evade her, but it soon became pretty clear he was out here for the same reason as May—they were both looking for Contest costumes. The shopping district had a long stretch of tailor shops and fabric stores to choose from, and while May had initially wanted to make her own costume from scratch, she was finding it pretty fun, trying out different fanciful, ready-made costumes along with Drew, who she knew had never lifted a needle and thread in his life.

So here they were now, in a tiny, stuffy costume shop by the corner of the street, just out of the equally small fitting rooms and standing side-by-side in front of the dust-layered mirror. Their shoulders were almost touching, but May tried to pay it no mind. Behind the counter, the shop attendant stared at them relentlessly, watching their every movement… but other than her, it was just the two of them. No Solidad, no Harley, like she was used to, when they hung out with each other.

It _was _making her feel a little self-conscious. May had to admit, it was pretty weird doing _shopping _of all things with her biggest rival, but on second thought, it didn't seem _that _bad. After all, competing in Contests along with him through Hoenn, Kanto, and Johto had made the two of them a lot closer than they used to be. So, she didn't mind this all that much.

Drew, on the other hand…

It had been clear right from the start of their impromptu shopping trip that Drew wasn't all that fond of dressing up, which she thought was a little strange—because Drew, with his dramatic hair flips and ever-ready red roses, had always struck her as the dressing-up type. Although she guessed he _did _need better fashion sense, but at the end of the day, he was a Coordinator, and a lot of Coordinators loved to dress up—herself, Dawn, and especially Harley, who in particular seemed to adore cross-dressing.

She didn't know why Drew was so uncomfortable—of course, he was trying to play it off as sheer ridicule, but May saw right through his act. But… it wasn't as if he looked _bad_ in that stupid purple suit—in fact, he looked _good—_but there was no way May was ever going to tell him that.

Instead, as he snapped at her to stop laughing for the second time, she opted to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Make me," she said playfully, and turned back to admiring her dress—it had a pale pink skirt that darkened to a dark crimson and flared out at the bottom and reached a little below her knees. It glittered with the tiny rhinestones embedded into the hems.

She had half a mind to ask Drew his opinion on the dress—but when she cast her gaze at their reflections in the mirror, the way his green eyes seemed to linger on her made her pause, her breath hitching in her throat all of a sudden.

Though, when he scoffed weakly at her reply, she pulled herself out of her daze and rolled her eyes.

"What's wrong with the costume this time, Drew? I think it's the best one so far," she retorted, then bit her lower lip. She hadn't meant to throw him that compliment, but she guessed it'd just slipped out.

He frowned. "You think?" he asked, fingering the lapels of his suit absentmindedly. "I think there's still something missing."

"You've said that for the past five or so costumes," May pointed out. He blinked at her for a second.

"I have," he admitted, then smirked, flicking a lock of his hair to the side. "It's all for the perfect look that complements my Pokémon for the best crowd appeal, you know."

May smiled, shaking her head. As much as she enjoyed teasing Drew, this shopping trip had to end. "Alright," she told him with as much finality as she could muster and channel into her voice. She proceeded to declare with a grin, _"I _know what's missing."

Drew looked at her curiously as she rummaged in her fanny pack, gently nudging aside Pokéballs, her Pokéblock case and candy bars to get to the thing hidden and buried under all of her belongings like a secret, priceless treasure—a single red rose, its petals slightly crinkled.

It was the first rose he'd given her during their Contest endeavour in the Sinnoh region, and she wondered if he was ever going to run out of roses, and how she would feel if he did.

May smoothed the creases out gently, then turned to face Drew, taking a smooth step towards him. She hummed as she snapped the stem off the rose and held the deep red petals in place against the left lapel of his suit, finally securing them with a safety pin. After which, she tugged on his suit lightly, adjusting his collar, before stepping back slightly with a satisfied smile.

"There. All done!" she proclaimed proudly, turning to look in the mirror to admire her handiwork—a handmade boutonniere.

Only to see his face flush red, his eyes looking anywhere but at her. She hardly saw him like this—the last time she witnessed him actually blush was back at Chrysanthemum Island, when she'd teased him about his roses. Maybe he didn't like roses on his shirt?

May frowned, moving closer to peer at the pinned rose. "What's wrong? Does it look weird?" She pouted, fussing with the pinned rose as she muttered, "I thought it would look pretty…"

"May," he suddenly said, his voice sounding strangely breathless.

May tilted her head, looking up to meet his eyes—and she suddenly realised how _close _they were. The tips of their shoes were almost touching, and she could even count his eyelashes—if she wasn't so taken in by the green of his eyes.

_Oh— _

She blinked, then swallowed. Her hands stilled, fingers recoiling from his suit and curling into her palms.

Yet, even as she bit her lip, she made no move to pull away, and neither did Drew, as his eyes flickered to her mouth.

_Oh. _

So it'd come to this, after so many years of dancing around their feelings, pretending they were nothing more than rivals, even as they half-flirted with each other.

Was this really happening? Was she actually going to kiss _Drew? _Of all people, her rival? That thought was a little scary, a little exciting—and it made May hesitate for a second. But Drew made no such hesitation—one second she was contemplating her life decisions, and the next second his lips were on hers, his gloved hand caressing the side of her face.

_Oh. _

Her eyes fluttered shut as she kissed him back, circling her arms around his neck, her fingers tentatively touching the soft locks of his hair. He chuckled against her lips, and she smiled back, taking in every bit of his blissful expression and wishing she could save it forever.

Behind the counter, someone cleared their throat and abruptly, they stumbled back from each other. May could feel her face burn, and she couldn't bring herself to look at the annoyed shop attendant—or Drew, for that matter, but she knew if she did, he wouldn't look flustered at all.

The girl sighed. "Just—just get out of these clothes and go," she told them in an exasperated voice.

May nodded, hanging her head and trudged into the fitting room. The click of the door of the adjacent fitting room closing told her Drew was doing the same.

They changed in silence.

May slipped out of the dress. The smooth fabric slid down like a cold waterfall against her feverish skin, making her shiver. She stared at her flushed face in the fitting room mirror, and touched her lips with her fingers, her heart skipping a beat as she thought about what happened barely a minute ago. She wished she had Beautifly out of her Pokéball right now, because she _really _needed a listening ear and a comforting presence—

"May?" Drew's quiet voice from the adjacent dressing room made her jump. Arms flailing in panic, she fumbled to regain her balance, mumbling to herself to fill the silence.

It was a strange predicament that they'd gotten themselves into. Though they'd played this game for years now: a red rose for 'Beautifly', spiteless banter bordering on flirtatious, promises to see each other at the next Contest—it'd never amounted to _this. _Perhaps all the little actions and feelings shrugged off had slowly accumulated over the years and—May shook her head to clear her whirling thoughts, feeling the heat rush to her face again.

"May." Drew's voice came again, and May thought he'd begun to sound a little annoyed. She snapped out of her reverie and changed back into her normal clothes.

"Coming!" she called and tried not to die of embarrassment as she unlocked her door and stepped outside.

Having changed back into his regular clothes, Drew was standing right in front of her cubicle. Her eyes tracked his familiar purple jacket worn over his black turtleneck, and those notorious aqua pants tucked over viridian dress shoes. It was an outfit he'd worn since the day they met and before, but he was growing out of them quickly, becoming tight-fitting and shorter, and May couldn't look at his clothes as much as she couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.

Sneaking a sideways glance at him, she saw that he was staring straight ahead, face cool and collected, as if nothing had happened. She resisted the urge to huff.

He was always so impassive—only smirking irritatingly when May tried to turn the tables onto him and rile _him _up, and keeping his cool when Harley teased the two of them of being romantic. A picture of perfect indifference with the occasional smug hair flick during Contests. It was only when his fangirls hounded him and when his rose motif was made fun of that he would flush uncontrollably, and even then, May had only seen him lose his temper during Contest losses before he recovered miraculously quickly.

And crying… May had never seen Drew cry. She knew he did when Solidad beat him in his Contest debut, but things clearly had changed since then and he became a different Drew.

Behind his arrogant guy act and roses and impeccable Contest appeals and Ribbons, May knew there was another Drew she'd barely gotten a glimpse of. A Drew who displayed his emotions like an open book, who laughed and cried and got angry and wouldn't hide it up. A Drew who got flustered and blushed at Harley's implications as much as May did. A Drew who had a thousand and one insecurities and would talk about them to May. A Drew who would open up and let May in and share his burden with her.

A Drew who wasn't perfect. That Drew didn't need the perfect image, the perfect Contest appeal, the perfect Contest costume.

She wanted to see that Drew.

_Take off all your cool. Take off all your cool, and show me the real you—all of you. _

She whirled to the shopgirl and blurted, "We'll take those clothes." The shopgirl nodded begrudgingly and proceeded to pack their costumes into a fancy plastic carrier with practised ease.

Even without looking at Drew, May could feel his death glare burning the nape of her neck.

"May—" he started to say, but before he could finish, May turned back to him, tiptoeing as she pressed her lips to his in a bold, swift movement.

She heard his breath hitch. Felt his body still. Saw his face flush red, eyes widening. Then his arms were around her, pulling her in, and as May pressed a hand to his chest, she felt the quickening _pitter-patter _of his heart; heard his breathlessness and saw his green eyes darken as they pulled apart.

Feeling rather daring, she pressed a finger to his lips, and stifled a giggle when his face turned even redder.

She loved it when he lost his cool.

"Those clothes are perfect," she murmured, feeling herself blush too as she added, "There's no need to find another costume."

The shopgirl cleared her throat and handed them the carrier with a flat look. "Thank you. Please come again," she said, making it very clear that she meant _please don't come again. _

They stumbled out of the shop and back into the shopping square, and May breathed in the fresh air. It cleared her head a little, but in no way did she regret what happened inside.

Not when she was discovering more and more of the boy beside her every day.

He put on a scowl, running a hand through his hair as he muttered, "Why did you do that, May?"

As they walked out of the square, May smiled at him.

"You don't need to act cool or perfect, or hide anything in front of me." They walked side-by-side in silence before she added, "I like you the way you are."

To her surprise and amusement, he flushed and looked away from her. She peered at him curiously.

"What's wrong?" she asked, but he pointedly ignored her. She rolled her eyes. "I just told you, you don't need to hide anything from me. So what's the matter?"

"Nothing," he said after a stretch of silence, sounding like an insolent kid for a second, before his eyes lowered and he said quietly, "I just didn't think you liked me."

May wanted to laugh. "Of course I like you! Sure, you can be really arrogant sometimes and you tease me and make me angry and whatnot, but I know deep down you're a kind person. You've always helped me and other people in need, and you're super nice and polite to other people—except me." She couldn't help but make a face at the end, and Drew watched her silently.

"I'm sorry," he said. May's head shot up to stare at him. An apology from Drew was rare—she'd never gotten one before, even after he'd yelled at her during the Kanto Grand Festival. He sighed. "For some reason, I always want to make a dramatic impression on people. Especially when it comes to you, but it always rubs you the wrong way. I guess… I've been trying to impress you, May."

His eyes found hers as he confessed, "You've never failed to surprise me, time after time, and I wanted to impress you as much as you surprise me. I think you already know by what happened in there just now, but I like you, May. I've never liked anyone as much as now and I don't know what to do and how to act in front of you and it scares me."

May reached a hand to caress the side of his face, and he stiffens. Her eyes softened. "Relax," she whispered, smiling gently at him. "Drew, like I said, I like you the way you are. You don't have to put up a cool front in front of me, because honestly?"

She leaned in closer, their noses almost touching. "I want to see all of you. All your imperfections and insecurities. Your hobbies and your family and your life outside Contests. Not just your strengths, but _everything. _Because all those little things you like to hide up are part of you, and I want to see and know and love all of you."

She smiled up at him, savouring the look on his face as she brushed her mouth with his.

"Take off all your cool," she murmured against his lips, and she felt him freeze up for a second before exhaling and melting into her embrace.

"Okay." She heard the smile in his breathless whisper. "Okay."


End file.
